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AI exposure Production

Will AI replace crushing?

Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. US occupation 51-9021.

4.3%

of the time crushing spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of crushing's working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 267 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 64% of them.Further along than 64% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for crushingWhat crushing no longer do alone

O*NET lists 21 tasks for crushing. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms.Core task mostly automated 0.99

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

20 of the 21 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Clean work areas.Core task
  • Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools.Core task
  • Dislodge and clear jammed materials or other items from machinery and equipment, using hand tools.Core task
  • Examine materials, ingredients, or products, visually or with hands, to ensure conformance to established standards.Core task
  • Inspect chains, belts, or scrolls for signs of wear.Core task
  • Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials.Core task
Show the other 14
  • Notify supervisors of needed repairs.Core task
  • Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions.Core task
  • Read work orders to determine production specifications and information.Core task
  • Reject defective products and readjust equipment to eliminate problems.Core task
  • Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps and conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.Core task
  • Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements.Core task
  • Add or mix chemicals and ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices.
  • Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing.
  • Load materials into machinery and equipment, using hand tools.
  • Mark bins as to types of mixtures stored.
  • Set mill gauges to specified fineness of grind.
  • Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment.
  • Transfer materials, supplies, and products between work areas, using moving equipment and hand tools.
  • Turn valves to regulate the moisture contents of materials.

How that compares

Among the 98 production occupations, crushing rank 5. The group averages 0.8%, and its most exposed job is Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers at 12.1%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 263First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services 4.4%
  2. 263First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 4.4%
  3. 263Insulation Workers, Mechanical 4.4%

Just below

  1. 271Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers 4.1%
  2. 271Couriers and Messengers 4.1%
  3. 271First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers 4.1%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.